The Wonder of The Eucharist
December 2024 marked a special anniversary for me; ten years since I was made an Acolyte by Archbishop Prowse. For a decade, I have had the profound privilege of distributing the Most Holy Body of Christ, a gift of immeasurable grace that continues to fill me with awe and gratitude.
Over these ten years, I have placed the Body of Christ into the hands or upon the tongues of countless people, tens of thousands of times. Yet each moment is as sacred as the first, for each communicant approaches the Lord with their own unique story, hopes, and burdens, standing vulnerably before their Saviour.
When a communicant approaches, I have the opportunity to meet their eyes. In those moments, I’ve glimpsed the vast tapestry of the human condition: weariness and hope, joy and sorrow, pain and peace, confusion and focus, vulnerability and strength. Each face reminds me of the universality of Christ’s call to us all.
I have encountered every type of person imaginable: nobles and the impoverished, priests and prime ministers, employees and employers, the joyous and the sorrowful, the sick and the healthy, the reluctant and the keen, men and women, children and the elderly. I have seen three-piece suits and singlets, polished shoes and flip-flops. Each person, regardless of appearance or status, approaches the altar for the same reason: to receive the Bread of Life.
I have seen conservatives and progressives, left and right, and I have seen every kind of hand imaginable: blistered and ill, sick and frail, healthy and able, cracked and dry, moisturised and soft, the hands of the manual labourer and the hands of the office worker, the dry hands of a laborious mother and the soft hands of a grandmother. This diversity is one of the Church’s greatest wonders and glories.
No other institution or organisation on Earth gathers people from every culture, race, social and economic background as the Church does. It is not a building, a program, or even a community that unites us, but the Truth of the Eucharist, the real presence of Christ’s Body and Blood. In the Eucharist, all human distinctions fade, and we are one before the Lord who gave Himself for our salvation.
Reflecting on these ten years, I am filled with gratitude for the privilege of witnessing this profound mystery. The Eucharist is the beating heart of the Church, the ultimate act of love that draws us together as one family under Christ. No matter who we are or where we come from, we find our unity and hope in the Eucharist. I can assure you that this fact is the greatest joy of my life.
As I look forward to the years ahead, I carry with me the countless faces, stories, and hands I have encountered at the foot of the altar. They remind me that the Eucharist is not only a sacrament but the living presence of Christ, a gift that transcends every division and calls all of us to Himself.